Julia Wolfe has been winning acclaim of late for her socially savvy, large-scale works for orchestra and chorus—pieces like the hour-long Fire in My Mouth , premiered last month by the New York Philharmonic—so it’s good to be … » Read

An appropriate subtitle to New York City Ballet’s "New Combinations" program—William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman (1992), Justin Peck’s Principia (2019), and Kyle Abraham’s The Runaway (2018)—might be … » Read

NEW YORK--German composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher has become a regular with the New York Philharmonic since helming one of the three orchestras required for Stockhausen’s Gruppen back in 2012. Since then, he’s led the group … » Read

LOS ANGELES--David Lang’s the loser , presented by Los Angeles Opera in its West Coast premiere February 22 and 23, works on the principle of musical mesmerization. It relies on a single voice relating its hour-long tale in the first person … » Read

Ever since the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra  dispensed with the services of its Chief Conductor Daniele Gatti following charges of sexual harassment—accusations that Gatti still denies—the media has been speculating on his … » Read

At first impression, Robert Ashley’s style of vocal writing seems tantamount to simplicity itself. Text typically unfolds on a single pitch, like the reciting tone of liturgical chant, in a continuous flow that seems undifferentiated by … » Read

For more than 45 years, San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet has been one of classical music’s agents provocateurs. Early forays into musical agitprop would have to include George Crumb’s anti-war polemic, Black Angels , and to a lesser … » Read

CARDIFF—As Welsh National Opera awaits the arrival of Aidan Lang from Seattle Opera as its new general director, outgoing incumbent David Pountney’s farewell season continues with the second work in his Verdi trilogy, a new production … » Read

LOS ANGELES—A signature of Tan Dun’s most successful compositions is his gift for mixing putatively disparate elements into powerfully original amalgams. To make that happen means being able to take serious risks—and the premise … » Read

PHILADELPHIA-- It may have taken 28 years to reach the U.S., but Robert Carsen’s near-definitive staging of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has finally made landfall at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, giving … » Read